AMMO AVRO Lancaster & Other Night Bomber Acrylic Colours (A.MIG-7252)

[Mike]

AVRO Lancaster & Other Night Bomber Acrylic Colours (A.MIG-7252)

AMMO of Mig Jiménez

 

 

More paint from those prodigiously productive people at Ammo.  This set includes six colours in 17ml bottles in a cardboard tray inside a cardboard pack, each with a dropper top and yellow cap that is an indicator that there is a stainless steel "stirring ball" inside to assist with mixing the paint, which is also mentioned on the box.  This is a good thing, as AMMO acrylic paint does tend to separate out when left unattended.  By now it's common knowledge that AMMO paints are pretty good, and I have a few friends that swear by them.  They go on easily, settle down well and once fully dry after 24 hours they are robust enough to withstand sensible handling.  They dilute with AMMO thinners (A.MIG-2000) or water, and can either be airbrushed or brush painted, depending on your preference.

 

This set covers the main colours used to paint the lumbering night bombers that the RAF sent in huge numbers to erode the Nazi’s capability to wage war against the Allies, which they accomplished after many losses.  It is intended primarily for the Lancaster, mainly due to the fact that the Border 1:32 Lanc has recently reached our shores after long delays due to reasons we won’t go into.  There’s also the relatively recent 1:48 Lancaster kit from HK Models too, if the cost of the Border kit sends your wallet into hiding.   It is of course also suitable for any of the RAF bombers that tackled the job during the night hours, from Stirlings to Wellingtons, Hampdens and beyond.  The colours within the box are as follows:

 

 

A.MIG-0046 Matt Black

A.MIG-0070 Dark Earth

A.MIG-0203 Light Compass Ghost Grey FS36375

A.MIG-0219 Interior Green FS34226 (BS283)

A.MIG-0912 Red Brown Shadow

A.MIG-0915 Dark Green

 

The paints can be airbrushed or brush painted as already mentioned, and you can of course mix the shades to give yourself even more variety, as is demonstrated on the box front and back, which shows a few examples of the use of these (and other) colours to create highly realistic models.  Your artistry will of course play a part in whether you achieve such levels of brilliance, but this is a good palette to start your RAF Bomber career or step up a level.  There is one caveat to my eyes however, as I feel that the Dark Green is a bit vibrant, and not drab or dark enough for my liking.  I brushed out the two main camo colours on an old Hawk wing to see whether I was imagining it or not, and it confirmed my feelings, as you can see below.  I feel it would benefit from a dark undercoat, maybe using a black or dark grey primer on your model instead of the usual grey, but you’re perfectly entitled to disagree with me.

 

 

The light grey and red brown shades don’t immediately stand out as useful for a British night bomber, but they are included to create the prominent exhaust staining that is visible on many of the heavy bombers that have survived a sufficient number of missions to get dirty.  Careful study of the real thing and ideally spraying the paint to give you the soft-edged wispy effect that is usually evident, it will take a bit more of your usual skill to get the job done well.  The Interior Green is used within the airframe, although the more prominent sections of the cockpit were often painted black, so check the instructions for your particular model before laying down the green.

 

 

As an aside, I’m not a brush-painting modeller apart from painting small details, but brushing these colours onto the unprepared Hawk wing was quite an experience, as the paint brushes out really well, leaving no obvious brush marks behind, especially if you ‘lay off’ the paint by drawing your brush lightly over the paint perpendicular to the original brush strokes.  That requires the paint to remain wet for long enough for you to finish the job, but at around 27°c last night, it was still possible.  I was impressed, and after two light coats it was pretty solid, even without any primer under it.  I also sprayed a little grey primer on another section to see whether it darkened the green at all, and it didn’t.  Dark grey or black primer would be my guess to give it a darker hue, but test the theory before putting any paint on your model.

 

 

Conclusion

If you don’t have the correct colours for your latest project and want to get them all in a handy box, this could well be the set for you.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of